Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92043 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 460(@200wpm)___ 368(@250wpm)___ 307(@300wpm)
I struggled for air.
“None of us knew until it was over. That was your brother’s decision. He could’ve informed us at any point, and he chose not to.” He cleared his throat. “You need to forgive yourself for that. It was never your fault to begin with.”
Lucy’s arm slid around my waist.
“I’m going to take him upstairs,” she said.
I let her tow me to our rooms. Inside, it was cool and quiet. I stood inside the door, unsure.
“I want to talk to you,” Lucy said, her voice low as she walked toward the bedroom.
I followed. When I stepped through the doorway, she was taking off her shirt.
“I think this discussion will work better without clothes,” she said simply. She stripped completely bare and then came to me. I let her pull off my shirt and tug my pants and boxers down my legs. Kneeling, she peeled my socks off.
Without a word, she led me to the bed.
When I lay down beside her, she scooted in close, wrapping her leg around my waist. She tucked her arms between us and cupped my jaw in her hands. The comfort of her skin against mine was instantaneous.
“Are you with me?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied, my voice crackling and hoarse.
“You came for me, Ulf,” she said firmly. “I knew you would. Every second was a countdown to when you’d get here. There was never any doubt in my mind. Not for a moment. Okay?”
I nodded.
“I knew I just had to do my best to get to that point.” She leaned up and kissed my chin. “I had to outlast them long enough for you to get there.”
My stomach lurched. “I understand.”
“I don’t think you do,” she replied, her thumb coasting over my cheekbone softly. “So I need you to hear this next part, okay?”
I nodded again, bracing myself.
“I have never in my life been able to count on someone to save me,” she said, her eyes sad. “I’ve always had to save myself. Always. Even as a child. I learned how to fight, and I learned how to shoot because I knew no one else would.”
“Luce,” I muttered, my chest aching.
“Until you.” She smiled. “I knew you were coming. I railed at you about how you left me behind because I was angry. That was wrong, and I’m so sorry. I fucked up when I did that. From the very beginning, you’ve done everything you could to keep me safe.”
“But I didn’t.”
“No, you didn’t,” she replied. “I did. But that’s not the point. I knew you were coming, baby. Don’t you see? That’s the point. The fact that you didn’t make it in time means nothing.” She gave a quick jerk of her head. “I knew you were coming, and that means everything.”
“I’ll always come for you,” I promised, sliding my hand into her hair.
“I know you will,” she replied.
“I tried.” My voice cracked.
“I know you did.”
“I’m sorry I lost it outside.”
“Hey,” she said soothingly. “Everyone has their moments. I think you probably needed to get some of that out.”
“I have nightmares sometimes,” I confessed. “Zeke’s sitting in the room where they held him, and he’s waiting for us. Every time there’s a noise outside, his head shoots up because he thinks it’s us, but we never come.”
“You saw where they held him?”
“It’s how I found you,” I replied. “The prisoners had a little hiding place in the wall where they left things. You know, little pieces of proof they’d been there. He put a photo of him and Charlie inside.”
Lucy let out a little breath, her lips curling up in the corners. “Of course he did.”
“We didn’t even know he had a mate until we found that photo.”
“Figures,” she said, her hand sliding down to wrap around my chest. “Seems like he kept a lot of secrets.”
“It kills me that I didn’t know about any of it.”
“I know.”
“He couldn’t keep a secret to save his life when he was little,” I muttered. “Danny noticed everything, but we could generally count on him to keep his mouth shut. With Zeke, all you’d have to do is look at him and he’d start confessing to things he thought of doing.”
Lucy laughed. “What a little narc.”
“He was so cute, though,” I mused. “It was hard to stay mad at the little bugger.”
“It’s okay to be angry at him now, you know,” she said carefully. “He deserves it. I’m pissed.”
I smiled at her and pressed a kiss to the end of her nose.
“He made bad choices, and he paid too much for them. I’m devastated by that. Not angry. I wish he’d come to me.”
She tucked her head under my chin, and we lay quietly for a long time. Eventually, I dozed off. When I woke back up, she’d pulled the comforter over us and was watching me silently.